End Energy Poverty with Light it Forward

16 million people in about 2.3 million households have no electricity access. This is an indicator of energy poverty, a significant issue that the Philippines aims to end. One of the programs with this goal is the Light it Forward Challenge, a crisis management initiative collaborated on by public and private organizations.

Factors behind energy poverty are high electricity prices and extreme weather, among others. The Philippines has among the highest electricity prices in Asia, as most of the country’s fossil fuel sources are imported. Due to its geographic location, the country is susceptible to power outages from typhoons and earthquakes. Weather phenomena are increasing in intensity, with Typhoon Yolanda which destroyed 14 million homes and exacerbated poverty being the most extreme so far.

Brownouts at least once a week are a common occurrence for around 70% of Filipinos, with 30% living in areas with no access to electricity or daily brownouts. The Philippines needs approximately 28 billion pesos to reach total electrification, the National Electrification Administration, a government corporation affiliated with the Department of Energy states.

The Light it Forward Challenge launched “Liter of Light”, a program where volunteers of the Bike Scouts Project deliver solar lights for coffee farming communities while others promote awareness and solutions for energy poverty on social media.

All individuals who participate in the challenge receive a kit for building a solar light. Each participant records a video of themselves assembling the light and posts it as a challenge for others to join in, Miss Philippines Earth 2019 Janelle Tee, news anchor Mark Zambrano and actor Jason Abalos are among the celebrities who promoted the challenge. Furthermore, there is an interactive map where participants are able to see others who have joined.

Solar lights are a solution to electric lights, which pose high costs and risks such as burning kerosene. Replacing household lights with solar lights will reduce their carbon footprint by 1,000 kilograms over a five-year period.

Liter of light aims to be a global grassroots solar lighting movement that spreads their impact throughout the world. So far, it is operational in 32 countries with over 2,700 youth ambassadors. Apart from its main ethos of solar and street light production, it also implements simple and reparable mobile charging systems. Pepsi has been supporting the organization since 2011.

In the Expo 2020, Liter of Light was the Filipino private company to win over 6,900 applications worldwide as one of 120 changemakers to participate in the upcoming Expo Live Impact Innovation Grant Programme in Dubai.

The organization’s daylight solar bottle bulb can save Filipinos around P500 on monthly electricity bills. Since its founding in 2011, it has installed over 150,000 lights in 100 cities in the Philippines in its crusade to battle energy poverty.

Source: Light it Forward Challenge Fights Energy Poverty in the Philippines